5 ms·

Well that's full of really useful tips. I'll get the builders in to construct a 1.37m (4.5ft) thick spine through the middle of my house. Obviously.

trhway 9mo ago
You're missing out if you don't have such thick mass of warm brick/stone. If you only knew how great it is to sleep on top of it (my grandmother had similar to that in her house :) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_stove https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_stove Modern fire codes require large space between a stove and walls which is usually goes unused where it could have been really filled with such a thick brick structure with the smoke passage snaking through it like in Russian and German stoves. Or like this: https://www.mha-net.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/stucco-heater.jpg https://www.mha-net.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/05...
- jimnotgym 9mo ago
  Fire codes in the UK would allow a stove as close to the wall as you would like
loeg 9mo ago
Modern insulation is really, really good, and modern heatpumps are very energy efficient and don't pollute your house with CO, CO2, and particulate matter like woodsmoke. Also, modern double- or triple-pane windows insulate much better than drafty Elizabethan windows. We live in a time of marvels.
- basilgohar 9mo ago
  You're talking about the best of what's available but that is rarely what builders use and retrofitting your already constructed house to use these could end up costing you 1/3 or more of your home's original value. All that is to say that builders cheap out on new home construction so most people don't get to enjoy the benefits if these innovations.
  - teiferer 9mo ago
    Um, nobody builds a house without modern insulation (rock wool etc) and 3-pane windows. It wouldn't be legal either.
    - SturgeonsLaw 9mo ago
      That depends where you are. Here in Australia the default is single glazed windows, and double glazed is hideously expensive, especially to retrofit. Sounds you're somewhere with some actual building standards though.
      - donavanm 9mo ago
        Also in australia, the BCC/NCA is an absolute joke compared to basically every other industrialized country. There’s a reason for the annual “Austrlian houses dont meet WHO minimum standards” articles. As an example single pane windows havent been effective or widely used since the 70-80s in north america and europe. And both places energy standards effectively preclude them since 2000ish. Or insulation in australia is effectively absent in pre 2000s, and maybe R-4ish on a new build now. Conversely NA was R-4 in the 70-80s and it would be about R-6 (or more) these days. Our residential solar and heat pump uptake is great. But for building standards and quality were a joke.
    - dmd 9mo ago
      Build, no. But here in New England (Boston suburbs) even double-pane windows are still quite rare, because most houses are ~100 years old or more.
      - loeg 9mo ago
        Windows have a lifetime of only 15-30 years, though. If you have to replace them anyway, you might as well get double-pane (even if the rest of the house isn't well insulated).
        dmd 9mo ago
m463 9mo ago
the modern way of doing that is ICF - insulated concrete forms. I remember talking to a builder once who was building a house this way. He said the mass wasn't allowed to be advertised with an R-value since it wasn't actually insulation, but he said it was comparable to an R-50 house.
- UltraSane 9mo ago
  ICF homes are also VERY air tight. They often need special variable output heating and cooling.
  - m463 9mo ago
    I had trouble with my heating system and got a good long talk with the HVAC pro. I think variable output heating/cooling has one interesting capability - it can adjust to things you've adjusted. For example, a one or two-stage heating system has trouble if you close heating vents in some rooms. It might overheat if too many are closed for example. With a variable-output system, it can support this. further with variable dampers it can support zoned heating and cooling. You can give the places that need it less or more airflow and have a more comfortable house without waste. after seeing things like heatermeter (pid controlled smoker controller based on the raspberry pi), I wonder why this kind of convenient and efficient control isn't more common.
  - tstrimple 9mo ago
    Most high quality modern homes are built to be air tight and bring air in with exchangers. Monopoly framing is how they are approaching this with stick frame houses. They essentially create what looks like a building from the game Monopoly (no overhangs) with air tight materials and tape every hole they can find. They will install a blower door and measure how much air leaks from the building envelope. The overhanging features are installed outside of the air tight monopoly frame. This is what a monopoly framed house looks like before the roof and siding are put on: https://www.afirsttimehomebuilder.com/img/pure_monopoly_framing.jpg https://www.afirsttimehomebuilder.com/img/pure_monopoly_fram... All of the Zip boards are air and water tight and they use the tape on all of the seams to seal those. The roof will sit on top of the already water & air tight frame. Same with the siding.
ggm 9mo ago
Passive solar houses do exactly this. But you're fundamentally right, it's not really a retrofit. It's a goal you set for the next house.

trhway 9mo ago

You're missing out if you don't have such thick mass of warm brick/stone. If you only knew how great it is to sleep on top of it (my grandmother had similar to that in her house :) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_stove https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_stove Modern fire codes require large space between a stove and walls which is usually goes unused where it could have been really filled with such a thick brick structure with the smoke passage snaking through it like in Russian and German stoves. Or like this: https://www.mha-net.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/stucco-heater.jpg https://www.mha-net.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2020/05...

jimnotgym 9mo ago
Fire codes in the UK would allow a stove as close to the wall as you would like

loeg 9mo ago

Modern insulation is really, really good, and modern heatpumps are very energy efficient and don't pollute your house with CO, CO2, and particulate matter like woodsmoke. Also, modern double- or triple-pane windows insulate much better than drafty Elizabethan windows. We live in a time of marvels.

basilgohar 9mo ago
You're talking about the best of what's available but that is rarely what builders use and retrofitting your already constructed house to use these could end up costing you 1/3 or more of your home's original value. All that is to say that builders cheap out on new home construction so most people don't get to enjoy the benefits if these innovations.
- teiferer 9mo ago
  Um, nobody builds a house without modern insulation (rock wool etc) and 3-pane windows. It wouldn't be legal either.
  - SturgeonsLaw 9mo ago
    That depends where you are. Here in Australia the default is single glazed windows, and double glazed is hideously expensive, especially to retrofit. Sounds you're somewhere with some actual building standards though.
    - donavanm 9mo ago
      Also in australia, the BCC/NCA is an absolute joke compared to basically every other industrialized country. There’s a reason for the annual “Austrlian houses dont meet WHO minimum standards” articles. As an example single pane windows havent been effective or widely used since the 70-80s in north america and europe. And both places energy standards effectively preclude them since 2000ish. Or insulation in australia is effectively absent in pre 2000s, and maybe R-4ish on a new build now. Conversely NA was R-4 in the 70-80s and it would be about R-6 (or more) these days. Our residential solar and heat pump uptake is great. But for building standards and quality were a joke.
  - dmd 9mo ago
    Build, no. But here in New England (Boston suburbs) even double-pane windows are still quite rare, because most houses are ~100 years old or more.
    - loeg 9mo ago
      Windows have a lifetime of only 15-30 years, though. If you have to replace them anyway, you might as well get double-pane (even if the rest of the house isn't well insulated).
      - dmd 9mo ago

m463 9mo ago

the modern way of doing that is ICF - insulated concrete forms. I remember talking to a builder once who was building a house this way. He said the mass wasn't allowed to be advertised with an R-value since it wasn't actually insulation, but he said it was comparable to an R-50 house.

UltraSane 9mo ago
ICF homes are also VERY air tight. They often need special variable output heating and cooling.
- m463 9mo ago
  I had trouble with my heating system and got a good long talk with the HVAC pro. I think variable output heating/cooling has one interesting capability - it can adjust to things you've adjusted. For example, a one or two-stage heating system has trouble if you close heating vents in some rooms. It might overheat if too many are closed for example. With a variable-output system, it can support this. further with variable dampers it can support zoned heating and cooling. You can give the places that need it less or more airflow and have a more comfortable house without waste. after seeing things like heatermeter (pid controlled smoker controller based on the raspberry pi), I wonder why this kind of convenient and efficient control isn't more common.
- tstrimple 9mo ago
  Most high quality modern homes are built to be air tight and bring air in with exchangers. Monopoly framing is how they are approaching this with stick frame houses. They essentially create what looks like a building from the game Monopoly (no overhangs) with air tight materials and tape every hole they can find. They will install a blower door and measure how much air leaks from the building envelope. The overhanging features are installed outside of the air tight monopoly frame. This is what a monopoly framed house looks like before the roof and siding are put on: https://www.afirsttimehomebuilder.com/img/pure_monopoly_framing.jpg https://www.afirsttimehomebuilder.com/img/pure_monopoly_fram... All of the Zip boards are air and water tight and they use the tape on all of the seams to seal those. The roof will sit on top of the already water & air tight frame. Same with the siding.

ggm 9mo ago

Passive solar houses do exactly this. But you're fundamentally right, it's not really a retrofit. It's a goal you set for the next house.